‘Shore: How We See the Sea‘ brought together filmmakers, curators and marine scientists together in nine locations across Scotland to inspire, explore and share coastal communities’ responses to Marine Protected Areas two years after the legal designation of MPAs in 2016. Curated by Invisible Dust, ‘Shore‘ was aimed at raising a wider national awareness around the challenges of caring for our natural resources. How do you see the sea…?

INSPIRE
Aimed at inspiring conversation around our relationship with the sea, Invisible Dust commissioned two new works from leading filmmakers Margaret Salmon and Ed Webb-Ingall, shot on 35mm and digital video respectively in close proximity to MPAs on the west coast of Scotland.

CONNECT
These works were screened in nine locations across Scotland from July 2018 – April 2019 as part of a touring series of open, interactive events mixing arts with marine science.  Alongside the screenings there were additional creative and scientific content co-curated with each partner venue providing local context; interactive community ceilidhs led by community heritage organisation Local Voices, and opportunities for everyone to contribute to an interconnected project network forming a ‘chain’ conversation across Scotland as all Shore participants and audiences were invited to respond to the ideas, thoughts and learnings of the previous tour location.

REFLECT
Throughout ‘Shore‘, voices, texts, reflections and images were gathered and shared across artforms and partner locations to create an impression of the national picture around the social, economic and environmental implications of MPAs. By offering a platform for the complex perspectives and perceptions inspired by both arts and science engagement, Shore aimed to stimulate a wider national awareness and open up dialogue around the challenges of caring for our natural resources in Scotland and the UK.

DELIVERY
‘Shore: How We See The Sea‘ was delivered by Invisible Dust through a network of project partners across Scotland and the project toured to:

– Friday 20 July 2018, Arran, The Screen Machine in partnership with COAST (Community of Arran Seabed Trust)
– Saturday 8 September 2018, Barra, The Screen Machine
– Thursday 20 September 2018, Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum and Arts Centre, Lochmaddy, North Uist
– Saturday 20 October 2018, Gairloch, The Screen Machine
– Tuesday 23 October 2018, Ullapool, The Screen Machine
– Wednesday 24 October 2018, ATLAS Arts, Portree, Skye.
– Wednesday 23 January 2019, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee
– 5-7 April 2019, Timespan Museum and Arts Centre, Helmsdale
– Friday 12 April 2019, Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh.

‘Shore’ is funded by Creative Scotland with the additional support of the Wellcome Trust and scientific partners Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), and University of Edinburgh.

The films were toured in partnership with LUX Scotland and Regional Screen Scotland.

More info about MPAs
The Scottish protected areas network has grown considerably since the early 1990s with 185 sites contributing to the Scottish protected areas network in 2016, as demonstrated in the map below. The 31 MPAs will be incorporated into the National Marine Plan and represented in National Marine Plan interactive alongside existing protected areas.
More detail can be found on the individual designation pages.

Map image source.
Explore #ShoreScotland to find out more and visit the project website.

Header image: © Ed Webb-Ingall, still from ‘I Walk There Everyday But I Never Saw It That Way‘, courtesy of Invisible Dust.